As an integral part of a fine arts school, Architecture at RISD emphasizes process, artistic sensibilities and social and ethical responsibility. Students hone the ability to think and communicate through drawing, making, writing and discussing ideas with others as they define and articulate a personal approach to the discipline.

Degree Program

In the Studio

Architecture majors inspire each other as they get direct experience building with materials and learning to understand the technical demands of architecture through a process of inquiry, reflection and invention.

Beau Johnson | MArch candidate

"Architecture at RISD offers each student the freedom to explore the significance of the discipline through a tactile, interdisciplinary ethos of making. The diversity of opinions and experiences among faculty and students prompts serious questions and breeds a high level of critical thinking that reaches beyond the contemporary conventions of both the profession and academic discourse."

Student Work

Malcolm Rio MArch 2015

Yoshihiro Sergel BArch 2012

Simone Bunnag BArch 2013

Shahab Al Bahar BArch 2012

Greg Nemes MArch 2012

Alexander Diaz MArch 2013

Techstyle Haus

Techstyle Haus

Laura Briggs | associate professor + department head

"In Architecture you’ll discover that we value individual sensibilities, material reasoning, facility with symbiotic meaning/making and perhaps above all, imagination. As you develop a fluency with design and spatial cognition, you’ll find a new sense of authority and confidence in your own voice as a creative thinker and maker."

Architecture alumni make their mark as creative professionals in many different ways. Some launch their own practices designing and building residential and/or commercial projects, while others join larger established firms or smaller studios. In addition to practicing as architects, alumni have also gone on to stand out as sustainability specialists, author/illustrators, educators, health care designers and more…